The U.S. Postal Service will join 23 foreign postal administrations, all members of the Postal Union of the Americas and Spain (PUAS), in the second annual issuance of AMERICA Series stamps.
The U.S. issues will include a 25-cent commemorative and a 45-cent airmail stamp. Designed by Mark Hess, both stamps will debut Oct. 12 in Grand Canyon, Ariz. The commemorative stamp is an artistic rendition of the Grand Canyon as it may have appeared to the Coronado expedition, the first European explorers believed to have seen the Grand Canyon. The airmail stamp depicts the natural surroundings of the American Caribbean tropical isle coastline, much like the shores of the outer islands first encountered by Columbus upon his arrival in America.During October, postal administrators in North, South and Central America and Spain plan to issue the second sets of stamps in a continuing series leading up to the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in America.